This post was last updated on August 18th, 2024 at 08:21 am
The beauty of the push reel mower is it can give you a great workout while also helping you accomplish something you must do anyway: Mow the lawn. Best of all, your growing lawn provides all the motivation you need to exercise, at least during the summer months. If you don’t mow, your lawn might become unsightly and (gulp!) draw the scorn of neighbors.
But the truth is, reel mowers are not for everyone. They’re probably not for most people. Reel mowers are physically intensive, and they’re impractical for maintaining large yards. So, is a reel mower right for you? This post is designed to provide some insight into that question.
My wife and I used a push reel mower for several years at two different homes. One home had a very small yard, and the reel mower was a perfect solution. Our current home has what I’d describe as a medium-sized yard, and perhaps a little larger than most city lots because ours is a corner lot.
At our current home, we maintained the lawn with a Fiskars StaySharp reel mower for about four years until my wife and I both took full-time jobs. With both of us working and raising two kids, we could no longer keep up with the lawn. We switched to an EGO electric rotary mower, and I like it (See my full review of the EGO mower). We still have the reel mower, however, and it’s now become a backup. In fact, I pulled out the reel mower a couple summers ago while our EGO was in the shop for repairs.
Two major considerations: lawn size and your physical condition
The first consideration when deciding whether a reel mower is right for you is the size of your lawn. The larger your lawn, the more time you’ll need to commit to maintaining it. At a certain size lawn, a reel mower becomes impractical. Keep in mind, the terrain of your yard also matters. A reel mower will be more difficult to operate on steep slopes or uneven ground.
The next consideration is your physical condition. Whether a lawn is suitable for a reel mower depends largely on the person pushing the mower. You must consider your own physical ability to manage your particular lawn. (I am not a doctor or personal trainer, by the way.) My recommendation is to borrow, if possible, someone else’s reel mower and try it before purchasing one. Are you physically able to handle it? Make an honest assessment of your physical abilities and whether you’re physically up to the task.
Your time availability matters, too
If you believe you’re a good candidate for using a push reel mower, there’s another question to ask yourself: Do you have the time? With a reel mower, you may need to mow more frequently than with a powered rotary mower. That’s because you cannot allow the grass to grow too long with a reel mower. Once grass grows several inches high, it won’t easily enter the mower reel, which cuts the grass when it strikes the cutting bar. With long grass, the reel tends to roll over the top of it rather than cut it.
When my wife was working part time, she did a small section of the lawn each day during the week. I would contribute, too, often on the weekends. Our goal was to keep the lawn to three or four inches in height to prevent the problem that I described above with the reel rolling over the top of the grass.
Sometimes, even if you have the time to mow, a stretch of rainy weather may force you to wait. With my wife and I both working full time, it would inevitably rain on the few days that we had available to cut the grass. Mowing wet grass is never advisable, but it’s near impossible with a reel mower.
The bottom line: Using a reel mower may require more time dedication than a powered rotary mower. Make sure your schedule has the room.
The pros of using a reel mower
If you are physically able to use a reel mower and can commit the time, congratulations. The reel mower offers an awesome workout system, as you’ll likely discover this machine works multiple muscles, including those core muscles (again, I’m not doctor or personal trainer). Fiskars promotes its mowers as being “60% easier to push,” but even so, reel mowers demand a big effort.
Push reel mowers are best suited for people who’ve developed what I describe as the physically active mindset. People with this mindset use their immediate environment to stay in shape. After using a reel mower, you might question why you still have a gym membership.
Read: Three other lawn tools that can offer a workout
Healthy for the grass, too
Not only can it be healthy for you, a reel mower is considered healthier for your grass. A reel mower blade cuts like a pair of scissors, with the blade slicing the grass as it strikes the cutting bar. That’s different from a rotary mower, which cuts in a hacking motion like a machete. The cleaner cut from a reel mower allows the grass to heal faster.
No more filling up a gas can
Reel mower blades also tend to stay sharper for longer, in my experience. Also, because there’s no engine, there are fewer parts to maintain. Plus, with a reel mower, there are no trips to the gas station for fuel, which also eliminates toxic fumes while mowing. And there’s no battery to charge because you are the battery. You are the source of energy.
Another benefit is a reel mower has a small storage footprint. Our Fiskars mower leans against a wall and takes up very little garage space.
Read: Are you a candidate for biking to work?
Plus, a reel mower is super quiet
Last but not least, a reel mower is quiet. I would mow our lawn while our two children played in the yard. I could hear their voices as I walked back and forth across the grass. Mowing becomes a bit more pleasant when there’s no loud engine and no need to wear earplugs to protect your hearing.
Reel mower cons to consider
I’ve already touched on the reel mower’s biggest cons, namely the larger time commitment and the difficulty in cutting long grass. Related to the long grass is the dandelion problem. At our house, dandelions would proliferate in the spring, as our reel mower simply rolled over the top of their stems. Sure, I did my best to mow before they shot up, but, inevitably, many dandelions survived by growing too high for the reel mower’s blade.
Watch out for those twigs
Here are a couple more reel mower cons: You’ll have to pick up the twigs in your yard, and I mean every twig. Even small twigs can stop a reel mower in its tracks, as they tend to become wedged between the cutting blade and cutting bar. This can also dull the blade. Of course, it’s never a good idea to hit twigs with any type of mower. However, twigs pose a bigger threat to reel mowers.
Blades only move when you move forward
Finally, a reel mower is less efficient than a powered rotary mower in that you cannot mow grass while backing up. This comes into play while turning corners, which might require you to back up a little before moving forward. With a push reel mower, you can only cut while pushing the mower forward. The blades won’t spin when moving backward.
Read: The main problem with robotic mowers
So, is a push reel mower right for you?
If you’re looking for opportunities to add movement to your daily/weekly routine, a reel mower might be a great option. However, if your yard is too big or you lack the time to maintain it, you probably want to think twice before buying one. A reel mower makes sense under certain circumstances, but it’s not for everyone. Like I said earlier, we used one for several years, but our situation changed, and now we don’t. I will say that it remains in our garage, and I’m ready to use it if our powered mower breaks down.